Some sponsorships were baked right into the food: Inside the Betty Crocker tent at the Burger Bash, staffers served Blue Moon-flavored cupcakes.
Delta flight attendants pushed carts around the party, offering guests mini pretzels and other snacks. The staffers, real attendants for the airline, also passed out tickets that automatically entered guests to win two round-trip tickets to anywhere in the continental United States.
Throughout the weekend, Groupon hosted a tote-making station atop the Pier 92 parking structure. Guests were given an object to find on a giant photo mural, such as a cocktail or a car. Once they located the item, staffers handed them a token that could be redeemed for a screen-printed tote bag.
Hosted by Restaurant: Impossible star Robert Irvine, Thrillist's Barbecue & the Blues event took place on Friday at Good Units inside the Hudson Hotel. Guests could pick up containers with logos holding toothpicks and breath mints—must-haves for any food tasting event.
One of the new events the festival debuted this year was Jets & Chefs: the Ultimate Tailgate, which took place on Saturday afternoon at Pier 92. In addition to more than 20 game-day cuisine samplings, guests could partake in activities like ladder toss, a game set up in presenting sponsor Pepsi's activation area. The space was marked off by low walls made from empty Diet Pepsi cans.
The DJ booth at Tacos & Tequila was set in front of a giant screen that projected guests' Instagram photos and sponsor logos arranged inside a Mondrian-inspired configuration of squares.
The walk-around event at Fontainebleau Miami Beach featured a roving performer wearing a dress strewn with cake pops.
